The Scandalous Idina Sackville: A Review of The Bolter by Frances Osborne

This is a little bit out of time because Idina was really a 'flapper', but she was born during the Edwardian age and she certainly shared some Edwardian traits! I greatly enjoyed this excellent biography. Here is my review: The Bolter

General Motors Place Tickets

Tickets for events, such as Rod Stewart and Keith Urban are available at General Motors Place Tickets for cheap prices. Here you can find hot deals on the best seats at General Motors Place events all over the country. The people at A Cheap Seat are always friendly and will help you find the seat that you want.

A Cheap Seat also sells tickets for other venues as well as General Motors Place Tickets. Tickets for the best sporting events, such as football and baseball, at the Sears Centre Arena are also available. A Cheap Seat will help you find the best seats at the arena!

Another popular venue is the The Verizon Centre. You can buy excellent seats for sporting, theatre and concert events at A Cheap Seat. See General Motors Place Tickets.

Books Read During June

I can hardly believe that June is almost over. Time goes so quickly. I haven't finished many books yet. It's probably because I try to read too many at a time!

Up at the Villa by Somerset Maugham

Wealthy and beautiful, Mary is staying at a villa in Florence and thinking of marrying an older man about to be promoted to an excellent position in India. The only problem is that she doesn't love him. Feeling somewhat jaded, Mary longs for an adventure. When a poor young refugee falls in love with her she gets more than she bargained for...

Maugham often writes about rather shallow women who long for more purpose in life. Mary's character is sympathetically drawn and the book is unusually exciting for Maugham. It gives a very different perspective on life from The Purple Veil and it was more fun. However, The Purple Veil was much wiser and the main character was easier to identify with.

Act of Mercy by Peter Tremayne

This is part of a series about Sister Fidelma, an engaging advocate and religeuse in ancient Ireland. She investigates rather gruesome mysteries. These are well-written and the setting and details about ancient Irish law are fascinating. However, there are too many murders in this book and it's somewhat complicated. I do prefer 'cosy' mysteries.

Lina Cavalieri by Paul Fryer and Olga Usova

Lina Cavalieri was an Edwardian opera singer who was once called the most beautiful woman in the world. She led a wonderfully interesting life, transforming herself from a cafe singer to an opera singer who received some good reviews. She sang in Russia and had an affair with a Russian prince. She also married Robert Chandler, a relative of the Astors, and wiped him clean!

This book, however, was rather dull. I didn't really want to know about every performance Cavalieri ever gave and what every critic wrote about her. I wanted to know about the scandals surrounding her and her rivalry with Mary Garden.

Site Of The Week: Julia's Blog

Julia's posts atLoscuadenosdeJulia are always interesting and insightful. Her subjects include Russian literature, social networking and blog posts that she likes. I'm very happy that I found this blog!

The Art History Reading Challenge

This is another challenge which appeals to me. Joining involves reading at least six books about art history this year - fiction or non-fiction. You can make a list or read according to your whim - I think that I'll do the latter!

Booking Through Thursday

Booking Through Thursday suggests making a list in fifteen minutes of 'fifteen of the books that have stayed with you'. Here they are:

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2. Persuasion by Jane Austen
3. Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery
4. Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
5. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
6. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
7. Lord of the Rings by Tolkein
8. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith
9. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
10.None Dare Call It Treason by Catherine Gavin
11.How Sleep the Brave by Catherine Gavin
12.The Free Frenchman by Piers Paul Read
13.A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
14.Sorrell and Son by Warwick Deeping
15.Little Women by Louisa Alcott

These are not in any particular order and I have many other favourite books!

Posts

I have been away recently and I am going to find it a bit difficult to write often because of travelling between two places. I will do the best that I can to make my posts as frequent as possible.

Passages to the Past's Book Giveaway

Amy at Passages to the Past has a great prize. This book is called 'Royal Blood' by Rona Sharon and it looks great. Here is the link: Book Giveaway